Match.com Partners With MLB to Promote Singles

NEW YORK (AP) — As the baseball season approaches, Major League Baseball and Match.com are focusing on singles.

The online dating service announced Thursday it is launching 29 fan pages — one for every U.S. team — under a promotion with MLB that allows the website’s users to connect with singles who are fans of particular clubs.

Match.com President Amarnath Thombre said the first question self-identified Yankees fans often ask of singles on the site is: “Who hates the Red Sox?”

Noah Garden, Major League Baseball Advanced Media’s executive vice president of revenue, said “the Match.com conversation is one we’ve had on and off over the years to see if there’s something we could do together.”

MLB hopes the pages spur ticket sales.

“The idea is put like people together with similar interest and passion,” he said. “There’s still always room for more butts in the seats.”

New England Patriots team owner Robert Kraft testified Tuesday that his former star tight end Aaron Hernandez told him he was innocent when asked if he was involved in a 2013 killing. Kraft was called by the prosecution